Smart Career Moves in Sales: Balancing Risk in a Moderate Job Market
Being in sales is rewarding, lucrative, fun, and challenging.
Not to mention, it’s full of possibilities. But sometimes, out of nowhere, external chaos ensues. Maybe your boss leaves, funding dries up, your CEO is replaced, your product falls behind, or your support team crumbles, and customers become increasingly unhappy.
Or maybe, it’s just time.
Time to look elsewhere for a competitive product, leader, and/or company you can get behind. And if you’re considering a move, you’ve probably heard that the current job market for SaaS sales professionals isn’t the lightning-hot job market of two years ago.
This doesn’t mean you should automatically stay put with your current employer.
A moderate job market is no reason to endure a bad situation. But it’s important to consider employers are currently more cautious, and you’ll need to be too.
And although it feels good to think future situations can be fully known, properly anticipated, and completely understood, they simply can’t.
You’ve heard about large tech layoffs and that more people are competing for a smaller number of sales roles. Combine this with an elongated interview process, and it will likely take longer than a few weeks to land a new sales gig.
So instead of trying to recover from a bad job move, prevent a poor move in the first place. This article isn’t designed to caution you against the perils of taking on job change risks.
Fun fact, we helped build a tiny seed-funded startup in the down market of 2009. Today they are public and well known as one of the top 100 SaaS companies in the world. The reps we put in took calculated risks and received significant career opportunities and wealth-creating stock option payouts!
It’s designed to bring your attention to known knowns and to encourage you to carefully consider creating more options and evaluating opportunities to the best of your abilities before making the leap.
Understanding The State of The Labor Market
First, let’s look at the current state of the market according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA):
The most recent Bureau of Economic Analysis report shows that total US personal savings rates dropped to $720.5 billion from $777.3 billion, or from 3.8% to 3.5%.
Civilian unemployment rates are at 4.1%, with 6.8 million unemployed. Let’s compare this to one year ago in June 2023, unemployment rates were at 3.6% with 6 million unemployed.
The 206,000 nonfarm payroll employment increases we saw in June were primarily out of the government, health care, social assistance, and construction sectors.
Navigating a moderate job market can be challenging, particularly for software sales professionals, because job creation is partially dependent on funding, market confidence, and innovation.
So, while job opportunities may not be as prolific today as they were in yesterday’s booming market, strategic career moves are still strategic. And if they can put you in a better job situation, they are worth evaluating.
Building Career Opportunity in Any Market: Factors to Consider
One of the best and worst ways to discover a new sales role is through your existing network. This pool of opportunity contains people who know you, have worked with you in the past, or know of you through people who have worked with you in the past.
Let’s look at the upsides of this strategy.
First, you are a known entity, and because of this, the interview process will likely move faster. You’ll have an inside track on the hiring process. You may even favor these opportunities thanks to the familiarity bias- the tendency to favor things one is familiar with over what one is not familiar with.
Although having a personal connection to the company may make getting the role easier, it may also cause you to be overconfident about the quality of the opportunity.
Although it makes sense on the surface, when you dive deeper into the situation, it becomes clear that just because the company is right for your former VP of Sales or your former cubical neighbor doesn’t mean it will be right or a top 10% opportunity for you.
I’ve made this mistake myself, and maybe you have too. But it’s worth taking into account your own tendency to favor the familiar.
According to decision-making experts, one of the most reliable ways to increase your odds of making a good decision is to proactively create more options for yourself.
From “Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions” by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa: “The key to making a smart choice is to generate a rich set of alternatives. Don’t settle for your first idea, and don’t be satisfied with the easy way out.”
A straightforward way to expand your job choices is to continuously and proactively expand your network. This takes time and rarely happens in an instant.
Apart from LinkedIn, effective ways to build your network haven’t changed much in the last 25 years:
- Attend industry events, webinars, and conferences.
- Connect with industry peers and join relevant groups on LinkedIn.
- Join professional associations such as Pavilion
- Seek career guidance from experienced professionals in your space who can provide valuable insights and career advice.
Mitigate Employer Risk through 360º Evaluation
When evaluating a potential SaaS employer, you want to consider not only the current market but also the product. How does the product meet the needs of the current market? Is this solution something you can support and see a continuous need for? More importantly, is this a product you can proselytize?
Software product categories to consider for today’s market include energy management, construction, expense management, infrastructure, ML, automation, government technology, edtech, and supply chain solutions.
It might not be the most favorable time to sell dashboards, mortgage tech, recruiting, CRM, email, marketing, sales enablement, or lackluster AI tools.
When evaluating a sales opportunity, avoid potential pitfalls by considering the following company attributes:
- Financial Stability: Look for companies with strong financial discipline, cash positions, and positive sales growth projections.
- Sales Culture: Evaluate the company’s sales culture to ensure alignment with your own. Companies that don’t enjoy paying commissions don’t tend to value the sales function.
- Core Stability: Investigate the company’s record for employee retention, commission plan stability, executive turnover, and career advancement.
Compete for Excellent SaaS Sales Jobs by Properly Packaging Your Value
Neither salespeople nor sales jobs are in low supply. Unfortunately, it’s the quality that can be lacking. So, when you do come across a role that piques your interest, it’s important to know you’re competing with other high-performing sales professionals.
And a strong résumé matters more in a lackluster job market than it did when SaaS companies were hiring in droves.
Your résumé highlights your written presentation skills and gives employers a preview of your accomplishments. Résumés should adhere to a specific format to maximize the likelihood of being invited to a first interview.
Keep your résumé content tightly organized, relevant to the role, and as short as possible without sacrificing your achievements and experience.
A well-crafted résumé can significantly increase your chances of securing a first interview:
- Tailored Résumé and Cover Letter: Customize your résumé and cover letter for each job application, highlighting relevant skills and experiences.
- Showcase Quota Achievements: Include specific quota achievements, ICPs, Verticals called on, deal sizes, and performance data from previous sales roles.
- Interview Preparation: Prepare for both virtual and in-person interviews. Research the hiring manager and the company you’re interviewing with. Don’t forget to bring tailored interview questions to the meeting.
Negotiating Offers and Making Decisions
Effective negotiation ensures you get the best possible terms for your new role:
- Understanding Job Offers: Evaluate the components of job offers, including salary, compensation plans, benefits, and company quality.
- Negotiation Strategies: Use data and market research to support your negotiation points.
- Making Informed Decisions: Consider long-term career goals and how the job aligns with them.
Smart Career Moves in a Moderate Job Market
Making smart career moves in a moderate job market requires strategic planning, continuous skill enhancement, effective networking, and a proactive approach to job searching and negotiation. By following these steps, software, SaaS, and tech sales professionals can navigate the challenges of a lukewarm market and achieve long-term career success.
References
- Economic Indicators and Industry Trends: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Analysis Articles
- Skill Development Resources: Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, AA-ISP
- Networking Tips: LinkedIn, Professional Associations
- Employer Research Tools: Glassdoor, LinkedIn Company Pages, RepView
- Application and Negotiation Advice: Résumé Writing Guides, Interview Preparation Resources, Negotiation Strategies Articles
